Chapter 34: The Founder's Day Festival - Part 2
The hospital bed felt like sleeping on concrete, and the IV in my arm itched like hell. Caroline had fallen asleep in the chair beside me, one hand wrapped around mine, her face still streaked with dried tears.
The vervain bullet had been removed, the wound cleaned and stitched. Human healing meant a long recovery, but I'd live. The real damage was harder to quantify—one clone dead, Tyler Lockwood suspicious, and the supernatural world partially exposed to public view.
My phone buzzed with a text from Stefan: "John Gilbert officially charged with terrorism. His lawyers are claiming temporary insanity. Trial won't be for months."
Good. That bought us time.
Caroline stirred as I shifted position, her blue eyes immediately focusing on my face.
"You're awake." She sat up, running fingers through her disheveled hair. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got shot with a wooden bullet coated in vampire poison."
"Don't joke." Her voice cracked slightly. "You almost died, Sam. For me."
"Worth it."
She was quiet for a moment, studying my face like she was memorizing it. Then she leaned forward and kissed me, soft and careful and tasting like tears.
"I love you," she whispered. "But if you ever do something that stupid again, I'll kill you myself."
"Noted."
The doctor discharged me against Caroline's vehement protests. My shoulder was immobilized in a sling, and walking required more concentration than it should have, but there was too much to manage from a hospital bed.
Tyler found me at the Grill that evening, sliding into the booth across from me with the expression of someone who'd seen too much and understood too little.
"We need to talk," he said without preamble.
I sipped my coffee—one-handed was awkward—and waited. Tyler had been my friend for months now, one of the few genuinely good people in this supernatural mess. He deserved some version of the truth.
"The shadow thing," he continued. "During the parade. That was you, wasn't it?"
"What do you think you saw, Tyler?"
"I think I saw you save my father's life using some kind of... ability. Magic, maybe. Or something else." His voice was steady, but his hands were shaking slightly. "I think there's a lot more going on in this town than anyone admits."
I made a decision. Tyler had proven his loyalty, and he was going to find out about the supernatural world eventually. Better to control the narrative.
"I have abilities," I said carefully. "I can create copies of myself to protect people. Your family has secrets too, Tyler. Ask your father about the Lockwood legacy."
His face went pale. "My family? What kind of secrets?"
"The kind that explain why you sometimes feel different when you're angry. Why you're stronger than you should be, faster than normal." I leaned forward, meeting his eyes. "Ask him about the full moon, Tyler. Ask him about what happens when a Lockwood accidentally kills someone."
Tyler stared at me for a long moment, then pushed back from the table.
"You saved his life," he said quietly. "My dad. Whatever you are, whatever this... ability costs you, thank you."
He left without another word, and I knew I'd just planted a seed that would either grow into understanding or explode into chaos.
[QUEST COMPLETED: TYLER'S GRATITUDE]
[REWARD: +300 EXP]
[TYLER LOCKWOOD: SUPERNATURAL AWARE ALLY STATUS ACHIEVED]
[TOTAL EXP: 5,100/10,500 TO LEVEL 11]
That night, I stood in my basement with my three remaining clones arranged around me. The empty space where my Strength clone should have been felt like a missing tooth—obvious and painful.
"Time to bring him back," I said aloud, activating the System interface.
[CLONE RECREATION AVAILABLE]
[COST: 20 MP]
[WARNING: ORIGINAL AFFINITY LOST. NEW AFFINITY WILL BE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED]
[PROCEED? Y/N]
I selected yes, feeling the familiar drain as twenty points of mana flowed out of me. Shadows coalesced in the basement's center, twisting and solidifying until a perfect copy of me stood there, breathing hard like he'd just run a marathon.
[CLONE 1 RECREATED]
[NEW AFFINITY ASSIGNED: MIND SHIELD (EPIC)]
[MASTERY LEVEL: NOVICE 0%]
Epic tier. I stared at the System notification, hardly believing what I was seeing. Mind Shield was orders of magnitude rarer than Enhanced Speed, the kind of affinity that could turn the tide against mental manipulation.
"Test it," I told the clone.
He nodded and closed his eyes, and I could feel something shifting in the mental link between us. Not physical, but deeper—like a wall of pure will rising between his consciousness and the outside world.
Right on cue, Damon walked down the basement stairs.
"Heard you were playing with shadow puppets again," he said, then stopped short as he noticed the clone. "Wait. That one feels different."
Before I could warn him off, Damon's eyes dilated with compulsion. "Tell me your real name."
The mental attack hit my clone like water hitting stone. Nothing. No effect whatsoever.
"Sam Barton," the clone replied pleasantly. "Though I don't think that's what you were going for."
Damon's eyebrows shot up. "Well, that's new. Compulsion immunity?"
"Apparently." I felt a grin spreading across my face. "Even from Originals?"
My Mind Shield clone shrugged. "Guess we'll find out when Klaus shows up."
Damon laughed, the sound echoing in the concrete space. "You know what, Diet Nostradamus? You keep getting more interesting."
After Damon left, I sat on the basement steps and let the weight of the day settle over me. One clone dead, one reborn stronger. Tyler partially aware of the supernatural world. John Gilbert neutralized, at least temporarily.
Progress, but at a cost.
Caroline found me there an hour later, easing down beside me despite her designer dress.
"You look thoughtful," she said.
"Good thoughtful or bad thoughtful?"
"Dangerous thoughtful." She bumped my good shoulder with hers. "Want to talk about it?"
I considered the question. How did you explain that you'd just gained immunity to mental manipulation from creatures that could rewrite reality with a glance? How did you describe the weight of saving lives while watching your own abilities evolve in ways you didn't fully understand?
"I lost something today," I said finally. "But I gained something too. I'm not sure which matters more."
Caroline was quiet for a moment, then slipped her hand into mine.
"You gained Tyler's loyalty. You gained my mother's respect. You gained proof that you'll sacrifice anything to protect the people you love." Her voice was soft but firm. "You didn't lose anything that matters, Sam. You just changed."
"Change isn't always good."
"No. But it's always necessary."
She kissed my cheek and stood up, smoothing her dress.
"Come on. Mom's making dinner, and she wants to thank you for saving Richard Lockwood. Plus, you need proper food if you're going to heal properly."
I followed her upstairs, my three clones trailing behind like loyal shadows. Mind Shield, Defensive Shield, Sensory Enhancement. Each one unique, each one a piece of my growing power.
[ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: LEVEL 11 REACHED]
[TOTAL EXP: 10,500/10,500]
[+400 OVERFLOW EXP TOWARD LEVEL 12]
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 5]
[ALLOCATE NOW? Y/N]
I allocated the points while Caroline wasn't looking—two into Vitality for faster healing, two into Perception for better danger sense, one into Charisma for managing the increasingly complex web of relationships around me.
The numbers settled into place with a familiar warmth:
[STR: 10, AGI: 16, VIT: 25, INT: 24, WIS: 29, PER: 18, CHA: 20]
[HP: 700/700, MP: 490/510]
Level 11. Five months ago, I'd been a terrified medical student who'd died saving a kid from a car accident. Now I commanded four supernatural clones, had saved dozens of lives, and was dating the most beautiful girl in Virginia.
Caroline turned back to me at the top of the stairs, her smile bright enough to power the house.
"Ready?"
I looked at my clones, arrayed behind me like an army of shadows. Mind Shield clone grinned and gave me a thumbs up. Defensive Shield clone nodded approvingly. Sensory Enhancement clone was already scanning for threats on the way to dinner.
"Ready," I said.
But even as we walked toward the warm lights of the Forbes house, I could feel the future pressing against the present like a storm front. Klaus Mikaelson was still out there. Katherine was still scheming. The moonstone ritual still loomed on the horizon.
The real battles were just beginning.
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